Title: Enhancing ship arrival time adjustments in the anchorage area of the Suez Canal through optimal step tolling strategies

Authors: Chen-Hsiu Laih

Addresses: Department of Merchant Marine, National Taiwan Ocean University, No. 2, Beining Rd., Keelung City 20224, Taiwan

Abstract: An optimal n-step toll scheme (n = 1, 2, 3, …) has been developed to alleviate the queuing of ships waiting to enter the Suez Canal. However, current literature has not explored how tolled ships adjust their pre-toll anchorage arrival times to maintain the same equilibrium costs as they were in the pre-toll situation. To address this gap, this paper derives a series of formulas using the point slope form, depicting how tolled ships will modify their pre-toll anchorage arrival times. It is noteworthy that with a doubling of the step toll amount, the delay duration of the anchorage arrival times for early arriving tolled ships compared to their pre-toll anchorage arrival times also doubles. Conversely, with a halving of the step toll amount, the delay duration of the anchorage arrival times for late arriving tolled ships compared to their pre-toll anchorage arrival times also halves.

Keywords: Suez Canal; queuing; anchorage arrival time; step toll; point slope form.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSTL.2025.145021

International Journal of Shipping and Transport Logistics, 2025 Vol.20 No.1, pp.96 - 130

Received: 18 Mar 2024
Accepted: 30 Sep 2024
Published online: 17 Mar 2025 *

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